Sara's Dress & Ring

Hi, all.  Did you have a good Thanksgiving for those of you in the states?  We did.  As a matter of fact, I am cooking a turkey dinner right now.  We always go to relative's house for dinner, and I never have leftovers for turkey sammies.  I just didn't want that again this year, so we are having our own 2nd Thanksgiving dinner at home.  The kids are starving and the house is smelling pretty good, so tummies are grumbling.

Sara picked out a sparkly red dress that she just had to have for the holidays this year.  I was thinking something practical that she could also wear to school, but no.  She saw that dress and I could not get her to look at anything else!  So I caved in and bought her the impractical but pretty sparkly red dress.  And, of course, the shoes to go with it because white sneakers with hot pink laces just would not do.

She wore the dress the first time on Thursday, and will wear it again for Christmas.  Then, I got my order in the mail from Bello Modo.  Usually they put a free little goody in the package, and guess what I got? Three 4mm Swarovski bicones in green, white and red.  So guess what I did with it.  I made Sara a Christmas ring to go with her sparkly red dress for Christmas next month.  She really loves it.  Here are some pics...

Sara in her new red dress...

And here is her Christmas ring...

lol...she's been painting with watercolors all day...can you see the paint still in her fingers even though she washed them?

Anyhow, there's her ring.  I'm getting better at wrapping them and getting the sizing right.  Sara's turned out to be the exact size I was shooting for, and I was very happy about that.  What do you think of it?  It's much daintier than the other ones I did.  We both like it.  I'm thinking about making more with the 4mm bicones.  What do you think?

Pilgrim Hats

Ok, I did my mommy time with Sara tonight and made yummy pilgrim hats.  I got the idea off Facebook that my step-brother posted.  Of course, the professionals do it so much neater, but an 8 year old does it better!  That's what I say anyways.  The store did not have yellow frosting in a little tube for the hat buckles, so we substituted white.  So instead of brass or gold or whatever yellowish metal it was that they used...we'll just pretend they used silver instead.  Works for me!

What we did was melt some chocolate chips over a double boiler (but I don't have a double boiler so it was a pot and a metal bowl--works!).  While they're melting you put out Keebler Fudge Stripes cookies, bottom side up.  When the chocolate is all melted and stirred smooth you get a toothpick in each hand.  Put a large marshmallow in the chocolate and swirl it around to get it coated.  Poke the top of the marshmallow with one toothpick so you can pick it up and put it in the center of a cookie.  Use the other toothpick to hold the marshmallow down while you take out the first toothpick.  Then smooth out the chocolate on top.  When you're all done with the marshmallows, put the pan in the fridge to chill the chocolate back up.  Take them back out in a few minutes and then draw little icing squares on the fronts for the buckles.

Sara had a good time, as I'm sure any kid would have a good time playing with marshmallows and chocolate!  Cute, easy, fun idea.  Now we have something for all the kids to munch on tomorrow at our family's house.  lol  Not that there won't be enough...but this is KID stuff, after all.  May be too late for you to do it this year, but keep it in mind for next year.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!  May yours be filled with love and laughter...and good eats.

No Two Snowdrifts Are Alike

No two snowflakes are alike.  Well, neither are snowdrifts.  I had a major "doh!" moment the other day after getting the majority of my snowdrifts done on my Christmas project.  I have been used to making pieces that are 5x5.  Naturally what did I do?  Made it 5x5, of course.  However, I intended my BJP projects to be 5x7!  oops!  So, I had to start over making it the size I wanted it to be.  And, in doing so, I realized that my snowdrifts from the first and second pieces look nothing alike, which isn't a bad thing.   I just thought it was a little interesting...we may intend things to look the same, but they rarely do.  Each has their own characteristics that aren't duplicated.  The wind was just blowing a little differently the second time around.  Here is a pic of my newly completed snowdrifts...

I just want to wish everyone a healthy, loving, belly-full and safe Thanksgiving weekend!  Let's all remember our blessings...we all have them even when things seem to be at their lowest and times are tough.